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Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Psalms 21:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
  • BSB Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
  • NKJV Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
  • NASB Your hand will find all your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate you.
  • NLT You will capture all your enemies. Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God's hand will find out and seize all his enemies. No foe of the Lord and his king can escape divine justice.

Overview

The psalm turns to the defeat of God's enemies: his powerful hand will locate and grasp all who hate him. The address shifts toward God's own action against the wicked. This assured judgment on God's foes anticipates the final triumph of the Messiah over all that opposes God's reign.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • 1 Cor 15:25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
  • Ps 110:1–2The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
  • Luke 19:27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
  • Ps 72:9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
  • Rev 19:15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
  • Ps 89:22–23The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
  • Luke 19:14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
  • Ps 2:9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
  • Heb 10:28–29He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
  • Amos 9:2–3Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
  • Ps 18:1I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
  • 2 Sam 7:1And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
  • Isa 10:10As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
  • 1 Sam 31:3And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
  • 1 Sam 25:29Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 21:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 21:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.